Haji's Heart
by Natalie Dumas
Summary: Why was Haji so weak in the last episode? what will happen to Haji when Saya wakes up? What will he do? This story is based mid-anime onward. THIS STORY IS ON HOLD. IT IS NOT ABANDONED.
1. Chapter 1

"Saya! Saya! You must wake up" There was that voice again, Calling to her. It disturbed her.

Saya lay on the bed, so still, so pale. Haji sat and watched her, never leaving her side.

"She's been asleep for too long" Haji thought to himself. "Why won't she wake up?" Then aloud to His sleeping Queen, "Saya! Saya! You must wake up!" When she didn't stir, Haji stood, and deciding that a shower would be nice, went into the bathroom.

"If I can't wake her soon…" he let that thought trail off. He didn't want to think about the possibility that Saya might be asleep for the next 30 years. It seemed unlikely; she had not formed her chrysalis, nor was her vital signs so low that he thought she was in hibernation. Still though… She needed food if she was going to survive. "She won't live much longer on just my blood" Haji thought. The thought that she may not live entered his mind, if only briefly. He made up his mind in that instant.

Kai stepped into the room while Haji was gone. The man had become more and more distraught over the last few days, It was unnerving. The usually stoic man was starting to become more worried. Kai had even walked in on him yesterday, to find that Haji was crying. It unnerved Kai that haji was that worried. "Saya, please, Wake up."

Just then, Haji entered the room wearing nothing but a towel. "Oh Kai, I'm sorry."

Giving Haji a nod, Kai left the room. Haji turned back to where the sleeping girl lay. "It is time to eat Saya" After getting dressed, Haji picked the jeweled dagger that he kept on the bedside table. Slicing open his palm, Haji drained the blood into his own mouth. He fed Saya then, with a bloody kiss. He pulled down her chin, and allowed his sweet blood to trickle down her throat. He wrapped His arms around her. "Please Saya. Wake up!"

Haji was still. He lay next to Saya, cradling her. He was tormented. Saya still hadn't woken, and it had been a grand total of 20 days. They had moved her to a hospital, where she had been hooked to an I.V that fed her body with liquid nutrition. He continued to supply her with blood, in the hopes that it might wake her up.

Haji allowed the tears to stream, unrestricted, down his cheeks. It was time he face facts, Saya was not going to wake up. Something had gone wrong, and Saya was dying. Haji cradled her face gently. "I love you, Saya" he whispered. Haji kissed her gently, and withdrew his favorite jeweled dagger from his coat. His flesh received the piercing blade smooth like butter, and with barely a second thought, Haji withdrew the blade and pierced his own heart with it. Haji gave just the barest whimper of pain and became very still. His Chest ceased to move, and his heart stopped beating.

Saya's eyes fluttered and she opened them, only to be blinded by the insane lights. Saya became aware that she was wet, and looked down to find herself soaked in blood. "Where is it coming from?" She wondered. She knew she wasn't hurt. It was then that she realized that Haji was lying next to her. Saya sat up quickly. She began to examine Haji, starting with his legs, but she could find no obvious sign of injury. It was only when she opened his coat that she saw only the small hilt of his favorite dagger protruding from his chest. "NO!" She cried, and with one swift movement, she withdrew the dagger. When she did, it was as if a damn had broken. Blood came Gushing out of the wound, seeping down his chest. Saya sat on her heels. Using the already soiled dagger, she cut into her wrist, and placing the wound in Haji's mouth, she began to try to revive the man she loved.

Saya removed her hand, and allowed her wound to close. She couldn't spare anymore. It was her hope that it had been enough to repair the damage to his shredded heart. "Haji" she whispered "why would you do this?"

Saya Waited, and when she felt the feeble stirrings of Haji's Heart She commanded him to breathe. It took as moment, but Haji Began to draw shallow breathes. Saya let out a sigh of relief. She removed Haji's soiled clothes, and the bed linens. After sliding a clean sheet under Haji, she climbed back into the bed with him. Snuggling close to the man's chest, Saya fell asleep.

Haji awoke slowly. His chest hurt, and he had an awful headache. "I should be dead" He thought to himself "how am I….." he let the thought trail off as looked at Saya. Saya was sleeping, but she had a pink glow to her cheeks. It was so very different than the Saya He had laid down next to. "She's Alive" He breathed.

Haji pulled Saya close to him, and covered them both with a blanket. Saya didn't even stir. "I must feed" He realized. "But it can wait"

Haji opened his eyes to the sun shining through the window. He glanced at Saya, only to realize she was awake, and watching him.

"Saya" He whispered, a thousand questions burning in his mind. "How….?" Saya just stared at him.

"Why haji?" She whispered "why would you do something like that?"

Haji looked away, "Saya, I have been with you for many years. I'm not sure I'd know what to do with out you."

"Live" she whispered. "You'd live"

Haji stared at her. "How can you be so cruel? You would have me k-kill you, and then want me to live?" He watched as his words hit home. "Saya, I have no intentions of living. After I fulfilled my promise to you, I fully intend to take my own life."

"Haji…." Haji wondered how one word could be so full of pain, and anguish. "Saya, Let's not talk about this now" Haji said decisively.

"Okay Haji" Saya agreed. She closed her eyes.

Haji held Saya close, and felt that they were finally getting somewhere. He closed his eyes, and thought about what had just transpired. "I'd do it again" he thought.

Haji looked at the sleeping girl in his arms, His love. "I can't live without her" …..

**A/N** I'm thinking about continuing this story. Let me know if you'd like that. Again guys, please review.


	2. Ch 2 Haji's Dream

**A/N** This chapter will be mainly from Haji's point of view. Thank you **to Esther Clemens** for being so amazingly awesome. Our random conversations brighten my day! If you haven't read some of her work, go do so!

A black figure raced along the tree line, His split-tail coat flying behind him. In close pursuit followed a small dark-haired girl. The man whipped around and began to slowly advance on her. Whipping out his daggers, he threw them with unerring accuracy toward her. One of them caught her in arm, the other in her left leg. She stopped in her pursuit.

"You missed" she said coldly

"Are you sure?" The man replied the woman looked down and saw that her blood was draining out of her upper thigh. She cackled "well played, it seems my sister has good taste after all" She turned, and with only a blue streak was gone.

Haji turned and slumped against the chimney. Reaching down, he pulled out the jeweled dagger that was embedded in his abdomen. As soon as the obstruction was gone, his flesh sealed over. He had lost too much blood, however, and he fainted.

Haji fell off the now rain slicked roof, only to land with a crash on the ground below.

~Haji' dreams~

Haji dreamed of Saya. He dreamed of the time when she had demanded they have a picnic, then they had gotten caught in the rain. He had ended up so ill. "And when I woke up" he thought, she was there beside me, asleep in a chair" He laughed, remembering the good times they had had.

A piece of paper flew by in the wind, haji reached out to grab. "Human hands' he noted. Haji unfolded the paper and read what it said. It was an old song he had written, but it had lyrics he didn't remember. Haji spotted a cello next to a chair. He took up the bow, sat down and began to play his song. He sang to the music, a deep somber Base.

_I've been watching you_

_I obey you_

_I'm in love with you_

_Yet you, can't see me._

_Bound to you_

_Through rain or shine _

_Your blood flows_

_In time with mine_

_I will stand by you_

_Till the end of your days_

_And when that day comes _

_I won't stand in your way_

Haji wiped at the tears that flowed freely down his face. He closed his eyes and continued to play his song, all the while formulating what he would say in his head.

"Saya, I have stood by you for centuries now. I have done everything you asked of me. Not once have I betrayed you. Saya, I must disobey you this one time. Live Saya. Live for today, Live for tomorrow. We can finally have what we have always dreamed of saya. A quiet life, no more fighting. Please Saya, Don't make me do this."

Haji opened his eyes, to someone standing above him.

"hey! Are you alright mister?" The child could not have been more than eight years old. Haji smiled

"Yes, I am fine" He said kindly "I fell asleep is all" The child backed away as haji slowly got to his feet. He was slightly light-headed and he needed to get back to Headquarters for a transfusion.

A/N I know, this one's short. Sorry guys. I'll try to get another up later this week, and I'll be putting some drabbles up first thing tomorrow morning! Please Review!


	3. Chapter 3

Saya stared out the window, dreaming of her chevalier. Her emotions ravaged her, leaving her exhausted. It was the first time she had been alone for six months, ever since that terrible day. "I can't believe he would do something so terrible" she sighed. She was missing Haji. _"Saya, should I come home?" _She smiled. _No haji, I'll live. . _Saya turned to the dresser and took out her favorite pink nightgown. Slipping the buttons out of her shirt, she removed that and her skirt. She slipped into the silk contraption, and climbed into her soft bed. She lay there for several minutes. It just didn't feel right without him next to her. Saya closed her eyes, and drifted off to sleep.

~Saya's Dreams~

"_Saya, I can't let you go down there" Saya looked up, confused. "Okay, but will you get the lily for me?" she asked. Haji didn't say anything, but he started to climb down the steep cliff. He reached the ledge with the bright red lilies. He reached for the closest one. "No not that one haji" Haji looked up at her. He reached out for the lily, but couldn't quite reach. Using the foothold, he pushed off and managed to grab the lily. The rocky face of the cliff crumbled, and haji fell._

_Saya watched in horror as haji hit the ground. "HAJI!" she screamed. She ran down the path to the place where he lay. He was sprawled on the ground, and blood seeped from underneath him. "He's not breathing" she thought. "What do I do?" She put her hands underneath his head, they came away bloody. "He needs blood" she thought. Undoing the button that held on the dagger he carried, she sliced her palm. She drank up a mouthful, and leaned over. Saya placed her mouth over haji's, and gave him a bloody kiss. When her mouth was empty, she sat back and wiped her mouth. _

_Haji's body began to twitch. His eyes popped open, and he groaned as if in pain. She tried to restrain his thrashing body, but to no avail. "What's happening!" she cried. She turned and ran, yelling for Joel the whole way._

Saya opened her eyes and sat upright in bed. She was covered in sweat from head to toe. She lay back down, and curled up in a little ball. Tears ran down her face as she realized that what she had just witnessed was a not a dream, but rather a memory. "I did this to him" she cried internally. The pain was almost too much to bear. "I gave him my blood, I changed him" she sobbed. She knew haji would try to brush it off, but she felt horrible. "I have robbed him of so much" she whispered. I took away his chance for a normal family.

"No, Saya" Saya turned at the sound of his voice. He was there, standing just inside the doorway. He dropped the cello case, and came to her. Haji took Saya into his arms and cradled her. "You robbed me of nothing" he whispered to her. Saya just turned into his chest and began to cry. Haji held her as she sobbed and stroked her hair. As the sobs abated he began to speak. "Saya, I was born to a pair of gypsies. They tried to be good parents, but in that time, food was hard enough to come by. My parents sold me Joel. I'd like to believe that they thought he would provide me with a better life, but truly, they only wanted his money. Joel brought me to the zoo, and it was there I met you. Saya, I would have ended up a gypsy or dead if Joel hadn't come and recued me." Saya glanced up at haji, and smiled

Later, when Saya had fallen asleep again haji turned and stared out the window. Sharing his early days with her had been necessary. She blamed herself for what had happened to him that fateful day. Haji wondered what his life would have been like without the first Joel. "Not good" he decided. Haji lay back down next to his sleeping queen, and took her again in his arms

**A/N** Please review, Sorry it took me so long to get this up guys. I did post a new Drabble though!


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N** This chapter contains a **LEMON**. Don't read it if you don't like that sort of thing! It is marked with a ~

Saya awoke slowly, still half in her dreams. Oh! What wonderful dreams they had been. She turned into Haji's embrace. "What is it, Saya?" he asked. She responded by letting her hand trail down his flat abdomen. Haji shuddered. "Saya, I…" her kiss silenced him. She kissed him with a kind of hunger, a need. Haji forced himself to pull away. "Saya, we can't do this now." He said sternly, turning away so she wouldn't see the hunger in his eyes. After all, it wasn't like he didn't want to, it just wasn't right. Saya effectively took his choice away "Haji, do it" Haji shuddered and answered the only way his chevalier blood would let him "If that is what you wish, Saya."

Haji kissed her, gently at first, but with a growing need. Pulling the buttons through the silk nighty that she was wearing, he slipped the soft fabric down her shoulders, revealing her breasts. He kissed her neck, working his way down to the beautiful mounds. Taking one nipple in his mouth, he sucked, hard. Saya moaned with the pleasure. She let her head fall back. Her hands trailed up and down his abdomen in a sensual caress. "Saya, are you sure you want this?" her gasps coming too fast and shallow to answer, Saya just nodded.

Haji stepped away from the bed, and disposed of the rest of his clothing. He untangled Saya from her nighty, and climbed up on the bed, easing his knees apart with his hands. He leaned down and kissed Saya, letting his kissing trail down her body. He started with her neck, and then trailed soft pecks down her abdomen, stopping just above her core. Saya groaned. Haji let his hand cover he heat, and watched as she tightened into herself, gripping the bed sheet until her fingers turned white. He stroked her, from bottom to top, until she was crying and begging for release.

Saya shuddered. Haji was teasing her, kissing her abdomen, staying away from the one spot she wanted him most. She groaned as he cupped her mound, the heat of his adding to her intense pleasure. When he started to stroke her, she shuddered. Wave after wave of pleasure rolled over her, and she cried out his name as her orgasm to over. She felt haji move over her.

Haji smiled as Saya's orgasm took her to new heights. He hoped it would belay some of the pain he was about to cause. In one swift motion, Haji entered her completely, breaking through her barrier. He held himself there; as he watched the pain register in her eyes, and the gasp leave her lips. He turned his head, as he struggled with his self-control. He lost. Haji began moving slowly, stroking her. He watched as the pain disappeared and the pleasure caused her to lift her hips. He stated to move more quickly, and thrust harder and deeper each time. Saya stiffened, and cried out as another orgasm barreled through her. Haji came, moments later. He held himself, buried in her, against her still shaking body as he emptied his seed into her willing body.

~end lemon~

Hours later, Haji held Saya while she slept. He moved to the window, where he allowed the tears he had been restraining to flow freely down his cheeks. He felt violated. He had envisioned their first time as being consensual, but it hadn't been, not really. Saya had ordered him to have sex with her. He had been all too willing, he knew, but that didn't change the way he felt about it. A horrible thought overtook him. What if she became pregnant? They didn't know if it was possible, but if it was….would he then be forced to not only take the life of the one he loved, but of his child as well? He flinched in horror. "I would rather die, than take the life of my own child"

Haji walked over to the sleeping girl, and placed a hand over her womb. He felt nothing, but it had only been a few hours. Still though, he would be able to feel the baby at the moment of conception. He wondered if it would truly be so terrible. "Maybe it would convince her to live, if she had a child. He smiled. Maybe, just maybe he had found the key. A sudden pulsing got his attention. He placed his hand over her womb, and felt the baby.

Haji got out of bed, and picked up the cellphone he had placed on the bedside table. He called Julia, and explained the situation to her. "Congratulations Haji" she said. "As soon as Saya wakes up, bring her in. She is going to need a sonogram, and a transfusion." Haji gave the affirmative, and lay back down next to his sleeping queen. He smiled.

A/N Please review! Please! I hope you like it!


	5. Chapter 5

Saya stood and turned, watching as haji played his favorite cello concerto. He had been so brooding lately, and she saw no reason why. He had reverted back to his chevalier role, saying nothing except his "if that is what you wish" line. It was starting to get on her nerves. She couldn't help but think that that he just didn't love her anymore, and she would have believed it, If it wasn't for his eyes.

Every Time she saw his eyes, it tore her down to her soul. They were filled with so much pain, so much anguish. It made her want to sob every single time she saw them. His usual color was masked by his anguish, only allowing the pain to fill his eyes.

Haji stood, and opening his case, Put the cello away. Not looking at Saya, He turned and began to walk down the path toward the lake. It was a beautiful day, but it was lost on him. He knew he was being unfair to Saya. Coming down to the beach, he removed his shoes and sat with his feet in the cool water, hoping it would dull the anguish burning deep within his heart. Joel had told him. The final battle with Diva, it must take place soon. Saya would not yet be able to deliver. A stabbing pain coursed through his very soul as he thought about what this meant.

"I will be forced to kill not just HER, but my unborn daughter as well?" He let the tears flow unrelenting down his face. "I am bound by her blood, I cannot disobey her." And he had tried. For the last several weeks, he had been trying with all his might to resist every time she had asked him to do something. It was futile he had come to realize in the end. Taking comfort in that he would not have to live without her, he lay back on the shore and allowed himself to relax.

Saya watched him go, with increasing dismay. She missed the feel of him, holding her at night. It had been weeks since he had done so, and it left her feeling more alone than ever. It didn't help that she had not been feeling her best Latly, she had been very dizzy, and Julia said it was because her Blood Pressure was low. Feeding wasn't helping. It seemed to get worse and worse as the days progressed on. Saya stood, and blacked out.

Haji opened his eyes. Something was wrong. Abandoning his shoes, she stood and began to run in the direction that the pull was leading him. He caught Saya before she hit the ground. Alarmed when he realized she was unconscious, he lifted her into his arms. "Saya? Saya, wake up" He paused. When she stirred slightly, he let realized he was holding his breath and exhaled. She did not awake fully, but instead turned into him. It felt so good to finally have her in his arms. He decided not to take her in to see Julia, Instead walking back down toward the lake. He sat there, leaning against the trunk under the big oak tree, and held her while she slept. It had been too long since he had held her.

Saya awoke slowly, wondering where she was. She had the distinct sensation that someone was holding her, talking to her. It sounded like….Haji? She listened

" …saya, I love you, I will always love you." The voice continued "I have never asked for anything, never wanted anything. I ask you for this now Saya. Please forgive me for that actions I am about to perform. Saya fell back into the void.

As haji finished his plea, He withdrew the Small jeweled Dagger he had hidden within his coat. After making sure that Saya was completely out, He cut a small incision into her abdomen. Visualizing where the cord was, he severed it completely. Sobbing freely at what he had done, he fed Saya and watched as her wound closed. Needing to be alone, He called Kai to come and get Saya.

"It had to be done" He thought "Saya must live to fulfill her mission"


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N Here's Chapter six Guys! Thank you to my wonderfully amazing Beta and good friend **_**Esther Clemmens!**_** She has some amazing work! Go check it out! Review please! **

Haji sat up, his heart pounding. He buried his face in his hands, horrified at the nightmare he just had. "What a terrible dream" he thought as the tears flowed in gleaming rivulets down his face. He felt an arm around him.

"Haji, are you okay?" Saya asked as she held him close.

He couldn't answer. The sobs wracked his body as he his soul rent itself in two. When finally he had let the last tear fall, he fell back into her waiting arms and allowed her to cradle him as he fell back into a fitful sleep.

Saya carefully untangled herself from Haji, and slipped carefully out of the bed. She pulled the thick winter quilt up and over his icy body. Something was terribly wrong. Haji and been getting skinnier, and it disturbed her that she could see his ribs protruding beneath his skin. It didn't seem to matter how many times she fed him. It was like he was wasting away… as though he had given up. She tiptoed out of the room, and went back to her own bed. Heart pounding, she slipped beneath the covers. "What is happening, Haji?" she wondered as she drifted off.

Haji opened his eyes; it was almost all he could do. He was weak, it took every ounce of strength just to prop himself up on his pillows. He hated this feeling of helplessness- it was horrible watching himself fade away. He couldn't stop it. His body was literally fading out of existence, as though blood was no longer enough to nourish it. He knew he was starving to death. He would die if the cause of his illness wasn't discovered soon. It was unheard of, a chevalier becoming ill. He scratched at the sticky pad on his chest. Julia had insisted placing him on a monitor, so that she could do her best to care for him.

Julia sat in what had become her study. She was once again pouring over Joel's notes on Haji. The stoic chevalier was dying, and Julia felt powerless to stop it. It was strange, the way his body seemed to be rejecting Saya's blood. "And it's not just blood" she murmured to herself "it's any form of nutrition I give him."

She had tried everything from liquid nutrition in a drip, to human food. Nothing was working and Haji was starving to death by the minute. He had started sleeping now and Julia regarded it as a coping mechanism. The alarm on her computer beeped. Glancing at the screen, she saw that Haji had pushed the panic button she had given him.

The pain in his chest had gotten worse, gasping for air; he pushed the button Julia had given him in case he ever needed help. He fell back onto the bed, hands clutching at his chest, which felt like it was going to crack into two. The pain was threatening to overwhelm him and he struggled to stay conscious. He knew that if he blacked out now, he might never wake up.

Saya was in her room when she heard Julia cry, "CLEAR!". She dropped her shirt, and ran into the next room where Haji lay. When she got there, she saw him lying motionless on the bed, his face contorted in pain. Rushing to his side, she held his hand while Julia hooked up a drip, and tried to shock his heart back into rhythm.

Realizing that he was just barely breathing, she leaned up close so only he could hear her. She whispered "you must live, Haji. I cannot do this alone," into his ear. Immediately, his respiration deepened. She sighed in relief and sagged back against the headboard. "I will stay here tonight," she told Julia, unwilling to leave his side.

Julia hooked the monitor back up to the machine. "Leave it!" Saya told her, "If he is to die, than it will be."

Julia started to protest, but bit back her words. There was something about the way she was looking at Haji. "All right" she replied disconnecting the cords from Haji's chest. "You must call if anything goes wrong."

"I will" Saya replied, focusing all her attention on Haji. She waited until the others had left, than lay down next to him. His breathing had evened out, but when she placed her hand on his chest she could hear his heart struggling for every beat. It scared her more than anything, to think that she might lose him.

Haji opened his eyes to see Saya sitting next to him. "Saya…." He managed to say. She put her hand to his mouth.

"Hush," she soothed him. "Rest. I'll tell you what I think is going on." He nodded ever so slightly, his eyes doing the questioning. "We almost lost you" She began "Yo…your heart stopped, and they shocked it." Tears fell down her cheeks.

"Saya," Haji whispered "I need to tell you something" she nodded, still crying and unable to answer.

"I…I am glad I am to dye this way…" he stopped at her shocked expression. "Let…me finish." she didn't respond.

"Saya, I…could not have….have killed you. I would have disobeyed you. I…it is better…" he trailed off as a fit of coughing forced him to gasp for air.

"Haji…" Saya half sighed.

He began again. "You are …preg…pregnant, Saya." He finally got out. She gasped. "This wa…way I do not have to k...ill my child as well." Sensing that he was exhausted, she stopped him.

"Haji, I would never have asked you to do such a thing." She told him. "I have put you through enough." He looked at her, seeing the sadness in her eyes. It was a reflection of his own sadness.

Saya looked, at the man she loved. "_I have to let him go_," she thought. "_He's in so much_ _pain_." She kissed Haji then. It was a sweet kiss in which she tried to tell him how much she loved him. "Sleep now," she told him. Saya watched as Haji fell asleep. She watched as his chest stopped moving. And as Haji's heart stopped beating, she cried out her anger, and pain to the sleeping world.

"HAAAAJJJJIIIIIIII….!"

Julia came running when she heard Saya's lament. She burst through the door, only to find Saya crying over Haji's prone body. Julia tore Saya from the bed and threw her across the room. She climbed on top of Haji, and straddling his chest began compressions, all

the while yelling for help.

Kai and David came running in and took in the scene. Saya lay unconscious on the floor, and Haji lay dead on the bed. "Kai take Saya out of here!" Julia commanded before turning to David, "Hook up a drip, and get me a respirator!"

They did as she commanded and as David placed a mask over Haji's face, Kai lifted Saya into his arms. Julia called out to Kai, "Sedate her!" He looked back at her and nodded as he left the room.

David finished attaching a drip to Haji just as Julia stopped compressions. "Julia what the hell is that?" David asked, looking at Haji's shoulder. They were stunned to see a huge black growth protruding from an open wound.

"I have no idea," she said. "Get me a scalpel!"

When David had returned, Julia cut the mass off and sewed up the wound.

Turning back to the man on the bed, Julia began compressions again. Within minutes, Haji's damaged heart began to beat. Julia climbed off the bed.

"He still isn't breathing very well," David noted.

"His body is too weak to breathe" Julia replied. She went over to a cabinet and took out a short flexible tube. Walking to the head of the bed, she tilted back Haji's head, and placed the tube down his throat into his windpipe. After hooking it up to a respirator, she glanced at the monitor. "His heart is already beating stronger" she sighed.

"Look at that!" David breathed staring down at Haji. Haji's body was starting to fill out. His ribs were less pronounced and he had started to look a little less gaunt.


	7. Chapter 7

Haji opened his eyes. Confusion showed on his face.

"Don't try to speak," Julia said quickly. "Your body is too weak to breathe so I had to put a tube down your airway."

Haji nodded.

"I'm going to ask you a few questions, and I want you to blink once for yes and twice for no, ok?

He blinked once.

"Are you in any pain?"

Two blinks.

"That's very good." Julia told him. "Do you have any questions?"

One blink, so David handed him a dry erase board and a marker. He scribbled- _Where is Saya?_

Julia and David looked at one another. Julia spoke "Saya is sleeping, Haji. We had to sedate her because she was inconsolable."

_What happened?_

"Haji, you died." Julia said flatly, "Your heart stopped beating and you stopped breathing, you were dead." Julia stopped at the surprise in his eyes. "I think I removed the problem," she informed. "We have already given you six units of blood and you grow stronger with each one. Whatever the mass I removed was, it was stealing your body's nutrition."

_When can you remove the tube?_

"I should be able to in a few hours, as soon as your body has recovered a bit more. Sleep now and we will return to check on you in a few hours." Haji closed his eyes and tried to sleep.

Haji lay on his side and watched as the sun rose outside his window. Never before had he appreciated how beautiful it was. It had been a mere six hours since he had woken to find a tube down his throat, but already he was growing stronger, his body filling out. Julia had come and removed the air tube a few hours ago and now all Haji really wanted was to see Saya. She hadn't woken yet, and it had started to worry him.

Haji sat up on the edge of the bed. It made him dizzy still, being upright. He ignored the feeling. Saya needed him and it was his duty to go to her. Haji stood and grasping the edge of the bed, made his way toward the door to his room. Each step became steadier, until finally he felt secure enough to release the bed. Haji opened the door, and slipped out into the hall. The house was quite still and he had no problem slipping into the room where Saya lay, unseen.

He stopped dead in his tracks when he saw her on the bed, tossing and turning. _Oh Saya, do you grieve even in your dreams?_ he thought. He crawled into the bed and took her in is arms. _Rest now, my love. I am here. _

Immediately her tremors ceased, and Saya relaxed into his arms. "H…aaaa..jjj..iiii" she moaned quietly. Haji brushed away the tears that leaked from her still sleeping eyes.

"Saya, Wake up. I am here."

Saya heard him, calling her. _HHHaaaajjjjiiiii!_ She cried into her dreams, pouring out the anguish that filled her. _Why? Why Haji…..He was so sweet to me and all I ever did was hurt him. Now he's gone…gone…_ Her thoughts faded back into an incoherent babble.

"Saya, wake up," she heard him again.

Saya opened her eyes slowly, letting them adjust to the brightness of the room. She had a wonderful moment of bliss in which she did not remember the events of last night. Then it all came flooding back- Haji's death, Kai sedating her, the voice…it was too much. She folded into herself, pouring out her grief into this world of horror. And in that instant, he was there, standing before her. He looked so beautiful, so healthy. She thought to herself _another dream? Oh why are you so cruel to me fate? _She reached out a slender hand toward him, and the moment their fingers touched a shock bolted through her. The apparition spoke.

Haji smiled. _She thinks she's still dreaming. _ "Saya, you are not asleep." He told her. Alarmed when she started to cry, he climbed onto the bed. Taking her in his arms, Haji just held her as she realized that he was alive.

"Haji, I'm so very sorry." She sobbed, "I've been so very selfish."

Haji didn't say anything, just held her as she released her anguish.

When she had cried the last tear she looked up at him. "Please forgive me."

"Saya, you have done no wrong, there is nothing to forgive." His skin paled as the dizziness returned. "Right now I feel I am too weak to discuss such things." With that Haji slumped against the headboard.

_Are you okay?_ Saya asked choosing to use telepathy.

_I am still very weak, he replied. I have been getting transfusions constantly…I need to feed. _

Saya went very still. She told him, _You never should have waited…here. _Saya tapped the place at her throat where her carotid artery was.

Haji licked the place at her throat where he always fed. He heard her groan when he pierced her skin with his Fangs. As he drank, the sweet taste of her blood filled his mouth. He drank greedily, taking long pulls of her blood until he felt satisfied. Pulling away, he kissed her lips, letting her taste the sweetness of her own life-force.

She smiled _you still look tired…_

Haji nodded. _I have been sleeping on and off, as my body tries to recover. _

Saya cradled his head, which was still pressed snuggly in the hollow at her throat. "Rest, my love, we have all the time in the world..."

Haji smiled "If that is what you wish."

Saya looked into his piercing blue eyes "I love you, Haji"


End file.
